North San José is Silicon Valley’s largest tech business center with more than 81,000 jobs and 5,700 acres of land. It is home to companies working on emerging technologies in the fields of biotechnology, computer programming, battery technology, and electric vehicles, including smart electric vehicle company NIO Inc.

Local dignitaries and San José's Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs celebrated the grand opening ceremony of NIO’s new North America Headquarters and Innovation Center on Zanker Road on September. Complete with confetti and champagne, as well as test rides of their vehicles, the opening included San José Mayor Matt Mahan, former Mayor Sam Liccardo, Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei, Councilmember David Cohen and Santa Clara County Supervisor Otto Lee, as well as representatives from the California legislature and Congress.

NIO Inc. is a leading company in the premium smart electric vehicle market with a mission to “shape a joyful lifestyle”, as evidenced by their array of NIO-branded products from mahjong boards and clothing to cafes. NIO’s next-generation technologies include autonomous driving, digital technologies, electric powertrains, and its battery swapping technology, Battery as a Service (BaaS). BaaS can swap a depleted battery with a fully charged one in under 4 minutes. In the last five years NIO has deployed nearly 1,700 Power Swap Stations in China and Europe and successfully swapped over 26 million batteries.

Founded in 2014, NIO is not new to San José as their North American headquarters has been on North First Street since 2015. Their new 200,000 square foot facility is twice the size of the previous building and will be home to= the company’s development and launch of smart software and hardware technology powering the next generation of NIO vehicles.

“San José is the capital of innovation, and the capital of Silicon Valley is San José, that’s one of the many reasons why we chose San José to be our research and innovation headquarters in North America,” mentioned Ganesh V. Iyer, CEO of NIO US. “You look at…all these innovative companies in [and around] San José, and we want to be part of that innovative ecosystem, to be in the backyard.”

Iyer noted San José’s talent pipeline during his opening remarks as another major factor for choosing San José as their North American headquarters. Half of San José’s residents have a college degree or higher, making the City one of the most highly educated communities in the nation, and 1 in 5 residents hold degrees in STEM fields.

What’s next for NIO here in San José? NIO’s nearly200 engineers and staff in San José will be working to develop the software and hardware technology to power their third generation of vehicles in their headquarters for research and innovation. They plan to start selling their vehicles in the U.S. in 2025.

We look forward to seeing NIO continue to grow and thrive in San José!